Will LA County's indoor mask mandate return this week? Here's why it might not

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Many Los Angeles County residents have been wondering if the indoor mask mandate will return this week.

It was looking extremely likely, but now, maybe not so much.

Just three days before a universal indoor masking mandate is set to be re-imposed, a leveling off of COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations seem to be offering a reprieve.

"While we're really glad to see this decrease, and should it continue, we may be positioned to pause the implementation of universal indoor masking," said L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.

The positivity rate and the number of deaths have also started to slow down.

Ferrer said L.A. County is now on the cusp between the "medium" and "high" levels of community spread.

"Should we see sustained decreases in cases, or the rate of hospital admissions moves closer to the threshold or medium, we will pause implementation of universal indoor masking as we closely monitor our transmission rates," she said.

Masking, however, is only one mitigation strategy. Vaccination is another.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 43% of parents of young children said they will definitely not get the vaccine for their kids.

Across the five Southern California counties, 4% of kids under 5 have gotten at least one dose. This comes as new infections among kids have now risen to their highest point since May.

"We still are seeing kids getting hospitalized and passing away from this disease that could be preventable, and is actually preventable, with a vaccine," said Dr. Nicole van Groningen, a hospitalist with Cedars-Sinai.

Meanwhile, at the White House Summit, top scientists are discussing what's next for COVID vaccines.

Some experts believe mucosal vaccines could be key in stopping transmission.

"Our goal in developing a nasal vaccine is to replace infection with a safe nasal vaccine," said Dr. Martin Moore with Meissa Vaccines.

The hope is that a nasal spray vaccine could block the virus.

Scientists say transmission is the engine that drives new variants. The now dominant, highly contagious omicron subvariant, BA.5, is estimated to account for nearly 82% of new cases across the country.